Whale watching.

Scientists are using evidence of whale sightings off the North-East coast to help in their conservation.

The National Whale and Dolphin Watch took place around Britain from July 27 to August 4.




Of the more than 400 sightings, the North-East coast was the only place to record a Humpback whale, while the Yorkshire coast was the only site to spot a sei whale.

A minke whale and a Humpback were recorded off Whitburn Coastal Park, near Sunderland, while other Minkes were seen feeding for three consecutive days off Scarborough, including among them a group of three. A Minke was also spotted off the coast at Saltburn.




The Sei whale was seen near Whitby, along with white beaked dolphins and a harbour porpoise.

Harbour porpoises and Minke whales were also seen off Seahouses in Northumberland.

The results of the count, which is organised by the national marine research and conservation charity, the Sea Watch Foundation, will be analysed by the North-East Environmental Records Information Centre and the charity, Orca, and will be made public by the end of the month. It is expected that the number of sightings will rise considerably.

Sea Watch sightings officer, Danielle Gibas, said: "The event really captured the hearts and minds of members of the public. The good weather throughout much of the watch helped to engage people and we will be able to create a very clear picture of what species were around the coast."

A cetacean map will be drawn up plotting the sightings to give a picture of the distribution and numbers of the ten different species recorded across the UK.

While there was plenty of good news, there was also a potentially worrying development - a lack of reports of pilot and fin whales.

"We have had some very interesting sightings which we will now be analysing," said Ms Gibas. "The watch has confirmed, for instance, common dolphins now range to the north of Scotland and beyond - and the use of the North-East coast by significant numbers of minke whales."

"We know that pilot and fin whales are also regular visitors to our coastal waters. They have already been seen this year and we would expect them to be seen again during the summer."

Food Festival in Full Swing

Michelin-starred chef and TV’s Great British Menu winner Kenny Atkinson was one of the star attractions at the first ever Saltburn Food Festival.




Mr Atkinson, who recently left the five-star Rockliffe Hall, near Darlington, took a break from his latest venture to entertain the crowds at the Milton Street event today.

The chef, who is due to open his own restaurant on Newcastle’s Quayside later this year, is also the patron of Saltburn Farmer’s Market.

Mr Atkinson gave cooking demonstrations at 11.30am and 1.30pm to the crowds who packed out the street festival.

For food lovers, North-East producers were selling cheese, wine, meat, baked goods and sweet treats at the event.

Other attractions included Saltburn’s own Greedy Bassets Kitchen and Nobia African cuisine, run by Ghana born Nobia Deprez, who lives in Middlesbrough.

There were also picnic tables and live music so that visitors could relax throughout the day at the street-party style event.

Trapped couple refuse rescue at cliffs

Reported by Dave Cocks
Deputy Launching Authority & Lifeboat Press Officer at Redcar.

A couple trapped by the rising tide at the base of cliffs at Saltburn declined to be rescued by RNLI lifeboats on Saturday 3 August 2013.

The man and woman were seen to be stranded at Penny Hole, a notorious cut-off point at the bottom of Huntcliff, by RNLI lifeguards based at Saltburn.

Both RNLI lifeboats from Redcar launched at 2pm, approximately half an hour before high tide, and quickly located the middle-age couple.

The smaller inshore lifeboat was taken into the cliff base near to the couple’s location in preparation for the rescue. However when a crew member went ashore, the man and woman declined to be rescued into the lifeboat.

It is believed that the couple were walking along the base of the cliffs and had misjudged the time needed to get clear of the incoming tide.

Dave Cocks from Redcar RNLI said: ‘Our crew were a little taken aback when the stranded pair declined our offer of rescue. The gentleman was confident of his own knowledge of tides and was quite happy to sit it out until the tide fell back again.

‘We gave the couple advice about the risks from falling rocks and, after consulting with the coastguards coordinating the rescue, the lifeboats were stood down.

‘They had a picnic with them, which was probably just as well bearing in mind it was going to be at least two hours before there was any chance of them getting to a place of safety.’

Dave Cocks added: ‘There are always two risks to consider when walking close to the bottom of any cliffs. The first is being cut off by the tide and the second is being injured by falling rocks. There have been incidents elsewhere in the country where a section of cliff has collapsed with fatal consequences.’

The lifeboats returned to Redcar while lifeguards continued to monitor the couple's safety.


image of the Redcar RNLI inshore lifeboat at Huntcliff. Credit: Dave Cocks

Redcar lifeboat station has been operating since 1802
Redcar currently operates a B-class lifeboat named Leicester Challenge III, paid for by the people of Leicester, and an IB1-class lifeboat named Jacky Hunsley, paid from the legacy of the late Jacqueline Hunsley of Leeds.
For more news, information and images go to www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/redcarrnli
Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RedcarRNLI
RNLI media contacts:
For more information please telephone Dave Cocks, RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on 07894 558 483, or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789; pressoffice@rnli.org.uk

Food Festival Sunday

Final preparations are in full swing for Saltburn’s first Food Festival - which takes place on Sunday.



The event, which will be held on Milton Street, will be the first of its kind in the town.

Over 45 stalls from North-east food producers – many based within half an hour of Saltburn - will be selling cheese, chocolate, wine, meat, baked goods and sweet treats.

A favourite of Saltburn Farmers’ Market – Skinningrove Wines will be there, with owner Ian Coles on hand to give his hints and tips on how he produces his lovely fruit wines.

Also there will be Nobia African cuisine, run by Ghanian born Nobia Deprez, who now lives in Middlesbrough, and Saltburn’s very own trendy street food business The Greedy Bassets Kitchen.

A large section of Milton Street, in central Saltburn, will be closed for the food festival and the road will turn into a street party – with picnic tables in a central spot and live music throughout the day.

The highlight of the event will be the appearance of TV celebrity chef Kenny Atkinson, who has appeared on the BBC hit cooking show Great British Menu.

Kenny, who is patron of Saltburn Farmers’ Market, has taken time out of his hectic schedule - his new restaurant in Newcastle is due to open in the next few months - to give a cooking demonstration at 11.30am and 1.30pm.

Members of the general public are being encouraged to take part in the food making workshops, such as sausage making with Gosnay’s Butchers on Milton Street and decorating gingergread houses with Egton based business The Gingerbread House.

Parking for the free event is available in Huntcliff School and the council owned car park opposite the golf club and a Park and Ride Scheme will be provided.

Visitiors are also encouraged to catch the train to the event – the station platform is in front of the food festival.

Saltburn Food Festival runs from 10am to 4pm.

Nothing bog standard here.

Completion of a £140,000 project to improve visitor facilities at Saltburn has set the standard for future development.




The new and modern toilets at Saltburn's lower promenade include indoor and outdoor showers and are part of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council’s £1.3m Improving our Visitor Facilities programme.

Now Saltburn Railway Station facilities will be refurbished in the same distinctive Victorian-style used for the new facilities on Saltburn Promenade.

Other work in the programme includes improvements to signage and car parks as well as a drive to encourage the private creation of chalets and beach huts.

The scheme, which is expected to be complete by 2014, compliments other programmes such as the Guisborough Forest and Walkway and Redcar Seafront.

In addition, it brings the number of refurbished public toilets in the borough to eight, with plans to build a ninth in Skinningrove, at a total cost of £325,000.

Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, Olwyn Peters, said: “Saltburn is looking fantastic and we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the region. Work to refurbish our public toilets ensures that the borough remains accessible to elderly people, families with young children and other visitors. Many of us take these kinds of facilities for granted but for others they really are essential.”

Pete Firman Conjuring up a Few Tricks at Saltburn

Magician Pete Firman, described as the poster boy of British comedy magic, will conjure up a preview of his Edinburgh Festival when he returns to his Teesside roots.

He is perfoming his new show at Saltburn Community Theatre on Sunday, July 14.


As one of the stars of BBC1’s The Magicians, the Middlesbrough-born illusionist and comedian has also written and appeared in shows including Derren Brown’s 3D Magic Spectacular and Dirty Tricks.

He is now gearing up for his seventh Edinburgh Festival with a brand new act, Scoundrel. He said: “Working on a new show like this is just like starting again. I love creating new material and I always look forward to Edinburgh.”

Growing up around Linthorpe and Acklam, Mr Firman has happy memories of visiting Saltburn.

“I used to love Saturday mornings walking on the pier and beach at Saltburn with the family when I was growing up. I genuinely love the place, so I’m really looking forward to coming back for this gig.”

He added: "Expect the unexpected," he added. "I try and present the most impossible things that people have ever seen in the funniest way possible. Let's see what happens."

Doors open at 7pm on Sunday, July 14, for Pete Firman’s Scoundrel show which starts at 8pm at Saltburn Community Theatre.

Tickets costing £10 can be bought from Saltburn Health Foods on Station Square or by visiting www.saltburnarts.co.uk

Pete Firman plays the Edinburgh Festival at The Pleasance Courtyard between July 31 and August 25. For more details visit www.petefirman.co.uk

Saltburn Artists Project ready to re-open

Thanks to a £70,000 grant Saltburn Artist's Project has been saved.




The building which housed the Saltburn Studios and Gallery was crumbling and the future looked uncertain after annual funding from the Arts Council was stopped.

However, the Arts Council did grant a one-off £70,000 payment towards refurbishment and to help the Saltburn Artists Project charity to continue to run the studio and gallery themselves.

Helen Gaunt, development manager at the Marske Road building, said: “The whole of the front of the building was leaning to the side, the wood was rotten and the roof was leaking. Thanks to the grant the frontage has now been rebuilt and clad in cedar and all the studios have been dry lined and the roof fixed. We’ve also maximised space and created four new studios and the flat above the gallery has been renovated. We’re hoping to use the flat for artists in residence.”

Major building work was completed in the Spring.

The artists themselves then spent many hours fixing up the interior and the building will be finished just in time for the launch weekend on Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16.

Miss Gaunt said: “The exterior is so much better than before and I think it’s improved the environment for our community as well enhancing the space for the artists.”

There are 16 studio artists including fine artists, a silversmith, a photographer, a graphic designer, a ceramicist, and a dressmaker.

Saltburn Studios and Gallery will be open from 12pm until 4pm every weekend from this weekend. An exhibition of work will be on show in the exhibition space as well as demonstrations by artists in their studios.

The event is part of the Festival of the North-East which is a series of events held in June across the region. For more information visit www.saltburnartistsprojects.org.uk